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Rob Gill

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Grayling names chair for airline insolvency review

The government has appointed Peter Bucks to head up its review into the insolvency of airlines following the demise of Monarch.

Transport secretary Chris Grayling announced that Bucks, a former senior financial adviser to energy regulator Ofgem, will chair the review into how the collapse of airlines and travel firms should be handled in the future.

“I can announce that Peter Bucks has been appointed chair of the independent insolvency review set up after Monarch’s demise,” said Grayling during a speech. “I welcome the regulatory and finance experience he’ll bring to aviation.

“The review I’ve asked him to carry out will help us explore options for a new framework to deal with the failure of airlines and travel companies so that airlines can be wound down in an orderly fashion, and passengers repatriated or refunded with minimal or no government intervention.”

The government ordered the CAA to repatriate all 85,000 Monarch holidaymakers, regardless of whether they were covered by the Atol scheme at the cost of around £60 million, after the airline went into administration in October 2017.

The review of insolvency rules is expected to produce a final report by the end of 2018.

Currently UK-based airlines and travel companies have to cease all operations as soon as they enter administration but this is not the case in other countries where travel firms can continue operating despite the beginning of insolvency procedures.

As well as his role at Ofgem, Bucks has also held non-executive director roles at the Office of Rail Regulation and the Water Services Regulation Authority.

Bucks is currently a non-executive director of Market Operator Services Limited (MOSL), which is a market operator in the water and waste-water sector.

Grayling added: “I would also like to thank everyone across the industry who helped bring back Monarch passengers who could otherwise have been stranded abroad.

“It was a massive effort, with government working alongside airlines and airports to deal with a complex and difficult logistical challenge.”